Fort Collins, Colo., Apr. 28 2017 - The USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station's Fire, Fuel, and Smoke science program is offering its annual free "master class" on teaching with the FireWorks educational trunk on Thursday and Friday, June 15-16. The class will be held at the Missoula Fire Lab located at 5775 West Broadway Street, one mile northwest of the Missoula International Airport. To register for the free class, send an email with your name, email address, and phone number to Eva Masin at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or if you have any questions you can call her at 406-319-4820.

The class consists of two intense days of entertaining hands-on activities for teaching students about wildland fire behavior, ecology, management and activities related to traditional fire use by Native Americans. Content focuses on ecosystems in the Northern Rocky Mountains and North Cascade range, but the program is being adapted for use in other ecosystems, including the Sierra Nevada and the Sage Steppe. The curriculum, revised to include new materials tht reflect recent advances in fire research, has activities for every age group K-12, and adult education as well.

The FireWorks program is a valuable resource for teachers (OPI or University of Montana credit available), youth leaders, agency educators, communication specialists, and outdoor educators. Thirty trunks, available to trained educators, contain a wide variety of materials including laboratory equipment, specimens, CDs, books, and kits of specialized materials for teachers. The trunks are available for loan in eight states: Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming. A list of locations and contact information is available at firelab.org - Fire Works Trunk Availability.

The following partners support the FireWorks educational program: Blackfeet Community College; Montana Environmental Education Association; Montana Natural History Center; USDA Forest Service Northern and Intermountain Regions; Plumas National Forest, Project Learning Tree; Salish Kootenai College Rural Systemic Initiative; University of Idaho; and the University of Montana. To learn more about the FireWorks program go to www.firelab.org/project/fireworks-educational-program.